CEI MEETING COMMENCES

( Editorial: --> 9241 ) BRIJUNI, June 5 (Hina) - The ministerial meeting of the Central European Initiative (CEI) commenced on Friday in Brijuni on the northern Adriatic with an informal session chaired by Croatian Foreign Minister Mate Granic. The main topics of the CEI ministerial meeting are security problems in South-East Europe and CEI's getting closer to the EU. It is expected that the assembly of representatives of 16 member countries will in a special statement on Kosovo condemn the Serbian violence in Kosovo and ask the EU to strengthen cooperation with CEI. Granic asked for the armed conflicts in Kosovo to stop, warning that those conflicts could spread to neighbouring countries. He said that a solution should be found in negotiations, by defining the autonomy of Kosovo within the Yugoslav Federation. Granic rejected the idea of independence of this area or its annexation to Albania. In the draft of the final document CEI countries are calling on the EU to consider a political meeting between the CEI troika plus Italy's representative and the EU troika along with a European Commission representative, so that relations could be advanced, especially in regards to the process of expanding the EU to Eastern Europe. The space of eastern and central Europe, where the CEI members are situated, is the exclusive space for EU expansion, said Granic. CEI members hold that EU expansion is the most important process for creating political stability, economic progress and security in Europe, said Granic adding that the strategic interest of CEI members, which are mainly former socialist countries excluding Italy and Austria, is to become a part of the EU. Of the total of 16 member countries of CEI seven have started the process of being received into the EU and four have embarked on bilateral negotiations for admission. The CEI is a regional association which consists of 16 countries: Albania, Austria, Belorussia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Italy, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldavia, Poland, Rumania, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Ukraine. Croatia became a member of CEI in 1992 and is this year presiding over the organisation. (hina) jn bag/as 051954 MET jun 98